The Ruhuna tea-growing district lies in what is now the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. The tea-growing terrain, coastal plain with low hills towards the interior, lies mostly in the western part of the province, within the ‘wet zone’ watered by the southwest monsoon. Eastward, the land is predominantly scrub jungle, with some areas of grassy plain and coastal salt-marsh, growing wilder and more barren as one travels eastward. This eastern region is home to a number of nature reserves, including Ruhuna National Park, better known to Sri Lankans as Yala, whose upper reaches extend into the adjacent province of Uva. The forests of Ruhuna are home to wild elephants, leopards, bears, wild boar and many kinds of deer. It is a paradise for bird-lovers, with hundreds of native and migrant species, including giant flamingos which spend their breeding season among the salt-pans and marshes of Bundala, another coastal reserve.

Ruhuna was a latecomer to tea. It was only around 1900 that the first estates were opened up among the foothills of the central mountain massif, at a convenient distance from Galle and Matara with their road and rail connexion to the capital.

During the early 1970s, political and economic changes in the Middle East resulted in a greatly increased market for the strong, full-flavoured black teas that are a Ruhuna speciality. This resulted in a boom, the effects of which have lasted more or less until the present day. Ruhuna is now, along with Sabaragamuwa, one of the key tea-producing districts of Sri Lanka, producing its own characterful varieties. Between them, the two provinces account for around 60% of the total production of the island.

Ruhuna teas are defined as ‘low-grown’. The tea-estates of the region all lie at altitudes between sea level and 600 m. Although the main tea-growing areas are relatively near the coast, the predominant weather patterns prevent them from receiving the full force of the southwest monsoon winds and the rain they bring. Before the coming of tea, this zone of moderate climate, watered by several small rivers, was devoted to the cultivation of spices. The soil of Ruhuna, combined with the low elevation of the estates, causes the tea-bush to grow rapidly, producing a long, beautiful leaf that turns intensely black on withering and is particularly suited to rolling. Ruhuna factories produce a wide variety of leaf styles and sizes, from prized ‘tips’ through whole- and semi-whole-leaf teas to ‘fannings’ and CTC.

Sabaragamuwa is Sri Lanka’s biggest tea-growing district, whose relative importance has increased since the expansion of markets for Ceylon Tea in the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. The teas of Sabaragamuwa, like those of Ruhuna, are mainly low-grown. Its estates range in elevation from sea level to around 800 m. The highest estates lie just below the boundaries of the Sinharaja and Peak Wilderness nature reserves and share in the microclimatic conditions produced by the rainforests, cloud forests and high, grassy plains endemic to this region. As a result, they produce tea of a somewhat different character to that grown at lower elevations in the district. Some of these estates receive the highest rainfall of any in the plantation districts. Other upper Sabaragamuwa estates receive some weather from the nearby Uva climatic system, which affects the character of the tea they produce in an entirely different way.

The Sabaragamuwa tea-growing district covers most of the western and south-western faces of the central mountains of Sri Lanka. The terrain is hilly, with numerous small valleys cut into the hillsides by streams and rivers draining the upper massif. Copiously watered by the southwest monsoon, it features climatic conditions typical of tropical rainforest: hot and humid in the open, moist and cool where tree cover is thick. The most famous of its many places of interest is Adam’s Peak or Sri Pada, a 2200 m mountain peak, conical and symmetrical, at the summit of which a giant, intricately-decorated and detailed footprint has been carved into the rock. Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims all venerate this relic, whose origins are lost in the mists of antiquity.

Adam’s Peak is only the most prominent attraction of a land rich in history and legend. Indeed, the earliest traces of human settlement in Sri Lanka, dating back 34000 years or more, were found not far from Ratnapura. Various legends relating to the ancient Hindu epic, the Ramayana, have been attached to places in Sabaragamuwa; the region also has a number of important associations in history and folklore and was the scene of much warfare and intrigue during the Portuguese period (1505-1658). Tea from the estates of Sabaragamuwa seems to distil the essence of this rich and varied culture, belying the district’s twentieth-century rise to prominence in the industry.

Given the slightly wider range of growing altitude and more varied climatic conditions, it is not surprising that the teas of Sabaragamuwa show a little more variation in character than those of the other predominantly low-grown district, Ruhuna. As with the latter, Sabaragamuwa produces a fast-growing bush with a long leaf, very black when withered and well suited for rolling. The liquor, too, is similar to that of Ruhuna teas, dark yellow-brown with a reddish tint in the dry season, though lightening somewhat with altitude. The ‘nose’ or aroma, however, is noticeably different from the Ruhuna product, with a hint of sweet caramel, and not quite as strong as the latter.

Between these two high plateaus Horton Plains and Nuwara Eliya lies the tea-growing district of Dimbula (or, as it is sometimes spelled, Dimbulla). The name is derived from that of the valley which lies at the heart of the region, surrounded by the sub-districts of Bogawanthalawa, Dickoya, Kotagala, Maskeliya, Nanu-Oya and Talawakelle.

Its isolation ended with the coming of tea in the 1870s. Dimbula was, in fact, one of the earliest districts to be planted in the new crop. The teas of the district were found to produce a distinctive flavour of their own, one that lovers of fine tea prize to this day. This happy discovery brought settlement and commerce to the formerly uninhabited region, though Dimbula and its sub-districts remain wild and thinly populated to this day. Most local residents are plantation workers and their families; the remainder also tend to be occupied in work that serves the plantation industry in other ways, such as supply and transport.

Dimbula teas are characterized as ‘high-grown’; the regional definition specifies an elevation of between 1100 m and 1600 m, but in practice the region’s estates all stand at an altitude of over 1250. It is wet and misty for much of the year, and western-facing estates are drenched by the southwest monsoon between May and September; however, Dimbula also benefits from the cool, dry winds of the western ‘quality season’, a period that begins around the turn of the year and continues until March or early April. Dimbula estates yield their best teas during this season, when the air is crisp and cool by day while the nights are cold and windy.

The teas of Dimbula, like all high-grown teas, are slow-growing and small-leaved. The higher the elevation at which it was picked, the greater will be the brightness and freshness of the liquor in the cup. This is particularly the case with tea from the Nanu-Oya sub-district, whose high altitude and proximity to Nuwara Eliya results in a tea that bears noticeable similarities to the products of that region. Other sub-districts, such as Dickoya, produce a darker, more strongly flavoured tea.Tea factories

Uva is Sri Lanka’s remotest province. Though not far from Kandy or Nuwara Eliya as the crow flies, access to its provincial capital, Badulla, is only possible over steep, winding mountain roads. To get there from Colombo, one has to drive inland, then skirt nearly the entire southern half of the island’s central massif before turning north and ascending into the hills. Access from Sri Lanka’s other major urban centres, most of which lie on the coast, is equally difficult.

Still Sri Lanka’s second-least-populous province, Uva today has a modest economy largely dependent on plantation crops: tea in the hills and, on the plains, sugar. Apart from this, most agriculture is of the subsistence variety, and there is little industry. The province is divided into two administrative sectors, Badulla and Moneragala: the latter is southerly, and flat where it is not covered in low, wooded hills; the former lies on the southeastern slopes of the central massif and constitutes the tea-growing region of Uva. In ancient times, these hills were as thinly populated as they are today; however, Badulla was intermittently the capital of fugitive princes and satraps of the king of Kandy during the troubled centuries of Sri Lanka’s mediaeval period.

It was with tea grown and manufactured on his Uva estates that Sir Thomas Lipton first persuaded Americans to take up the tea-drinking habit. The mellow, smooth taste of Uva tea, once known, is easily distinguished from that of any other.

The Uva region produces a leaf that is more blackened by withering than that of any other district. The range of teas produced is wide, with a full range of whole and small-leaf grades as well as CTC varieties. During the July-September eastern quality season, the dessicated monsoon wind or kacchan disrupts normal photosynthesis in the tea plant, while the hot days and cold nights bring about chemical changes that improve the ‘nose’ and flavour. The manufacturing process must be adapted to take full advantage of these changes, becoming on the whole slightly briefer. It results in tea of a pungent, slightly mentholated character, radically different from that produced at any other time of year. Estates in the Uva region also produce a substantial amount of green tea from Assamese stock. These teas are produced mainly in the region of Idalgashinna.

Wedged between the Kandy and Uva districts on the eastern slopes of the hill country, Uda Pussellawa is a small, thinly-populated district almost entirely dedicated to tea cultivation. It boasts no large towns, and part of its uncultivated area is occupied by the Hakgala Strict Natural Reserve, which rises up the peak of the same name to a height of around 2000 m. The Uda Pussellawa region includes the sub-districts of Maturata, Ragala and Halgranoya.
Due to its location, Uda Pussellawa enjoys climatic conditions very different from those of the western plantation regions. As with neighbouring Uva, the district receives the bulk of its weather from the northeast monsoon system, which waters the eastern slopes of the hill country between November and January. The climate is mostly wet and misty, with the Hakgala region receiving rain on an average of 211 days every year. However, the district also enjoys some ‘blow-over’ from the southwest monsoon between June and September. Having deposited their rains on the western slopes of the hill country, these monsoon winds turn desertly dry by the time they cross the central watershed.
Uda Pussellawa estates thus enjoy not one but two ‘quality seasons’, the western as well as the eastern. This is especially the case with teas from the upper part of the district, bordering Nuwara Eliya (which lies immediately to the west), though elevations in Uda Pussellawa are somewhat lower than they are in Nuwara Eliya, ranging from 950m to 1,600m (3,000-5,000ft).

The tea of Uda Pussellawa is sometimes compared in character with that of Nuwara Eliya, though it appears somewhat darker in the cup, with a pinkish hue and a hint of greater strength. The eastern quality season from June to September produces the best teas of the year, closely followed by the western season during the first quarter. The dry, cold conditions during this latter period add a hint of rose to the bouquet of a tea known for its medium body and subtle character. Periods of heavy rainfall, on the other hand, tend to produce a tea that is darker in the cup and stronger-flavoured. Uda Pussellawa produces a variety of leaf sizes and styles.

Probably the best-known of Sri Lanka’s tea-growing districts, Nuwara Eliya is also the most rugged and mountainous, with the highest average elevation. Rainfall is moderate except during the dry season, which falls between February and April. Nights are cold and sometimes frosty.
Historically speaking, Nuwara Eliya is a relatively new place. The town from which the district takes its name sits perched on a plateau 1,868 m above sea level, under the shadow of Sri Lanka’s highest mountain, Pidurutalagala. Almost inaccessible in olden times due to the precipitous, jungle-clad terrain surrounding it, this scenic plateau was effectively uninhabited when it was discovered by an English explorer in 1818. Impressed by its magnificent scenery and climate, Sir Edward Barnes, the British governor of the time, resolved to turn the locale into the similar of Ceylon, a fashionable hill-station to which the government and society of the capital, Colombo, could repair during the hottest and unhealthiest months of the year. He accomplished this by the simple expedient of building a house there himself (it is now the Grand Hotel) and occupying it every year between March and April. ‘Newralia’ thus became, for a few weeks every year, the capital of colonial Ceylon.

The tea produced here sets it apart from lower-grown varieties. High altitude and year-round low temperatures produce a very slow-growing bush with unusually small leaves that take on an orange hue – just a hint against the blackness – after withering. The infused leaf acquires a greenish-yellow tone, and the infusion in the cup is the palest among all the regional varieties of Ceylon Tea.

As with all Ceylon Tea, Nuwara Eliya is available in several different grades. Excluding certain exotic varieties, the most sought-after is whole-leaf orange pekoe (OP); slightly less costly, though still expensive, is broken orange pekoe (BOP). Generally speaking, the smaller the leaf particle size, the stronger and less subtle the tea.

The Kandy tea-growing district forms part of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Though its capital nestles in a relatively low-lying valley, the estates themselves are dotted about the surrounding hills – in Nilambe, Hantane, Pussellawa, Gampola and, of course, Hewaheta. They are not as high up as those in the southern part of the central massif, so the tea of the Kandy region is described as ‘mid-grown’, the altitude of cultivation ranging between 650 m and 1300 m.
The local weather is influenced largely by the southwest monsoon system, the winds blowing in force up the mountain passes, though Kandy itself is relatively sheltered. Many of the estates, too, are clustered in valleys where the wind is less fierce, and the tea they produce are stronger and deeper-coloured than the rest of the region’s produce.

The teas of the Kandy region are said to be particularly flavoursome, though, as with all teas, their strength is inversely proportional to the elevation at which they are grown. In fact, the region produces a broad range of strengths and styles: estates at lower elevations produce a larger leaf with gives a stronger-flavoured beverage, while those higher up grow a smaller leaf that yields a more subtle and delicate flavour. Kandy factories also produce a broad mix of different ‘grades’ or leaf-particle sizes, from whole-leaf and semi-broken grades through broken orange pekoes or ‘BOPs’ to BOP fannings. CTC-style teas are also produced. Since leaf particle size affects the strength of the brew, the general effect from Kandy teas is one of considerable local and regional variety.

Kandy teas tend to produce a relatively bright infusion with a coppery tone. Though lighter in the cup, they present a good deal of strength and body, though not as much as the lower-grown products of Sabaragamuwa and Ruhuna. Most Kandy-district estates lie on the western slopes of the hills, so their taste is influenced by the ‘western quality season’, meaning that the best tea is produced during the first quarter of the year, when cool, dry weather sets in across the district.

Nilgiri tea is grown in the hills of the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, though there are numerous other tea-growing districts in South India as well, including Munnar and Central Travancore, further south in Kerala state.

Plantations only account for around 30% of tea production in Nilgiri District. The vast majority of production is undertaken by small growers, who typically own less than one hectare each. The majority of Nilgiri tea small growers are the Badagas, a local community of agriculturists.

Tea plantations in Nilgiri District (as in other growing districts of India) typically own and operate their own processing factories. Small growers sell their tea as green leaf to “bought leaf factories”, which are independently owned. Although in recent years, some plantation factories have started buying green leaf from small growers. After processing, which converts the green leaf into ‘made tea’, most is sold through regularly scheduled auctions in Coonoor, Coimbatore and Kochi. More than 50% of Nilgiri tea is exported, and usually finds its way into blends used for tea bags. Data is unreliable on the precise proportion of Nilgiri tea that is actually exported. However, Neilson and Pritchard (op cit) suggest that at least 70% of South Indian tea is exported, and the Nilgiris constitutes more than half of all South Indian production.

The expensive hand-sorted, full-leaf versions of the tea like the Orange Pekoe (O.P.) are highly sought after at international auctions making it unaffordable for most locals. In November 2006 a Nilgiri Tea achieved “Top Honours” and fetched a world record price of $600 per kg. This was at the first ever tea auction held in Las Vegas. A machine-sorted, lower-cost variety of high quality tea is a semi-full leaf variety known as Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP). However, most production occurs via the Crush, Tear, Curl or CTC process of manufacture. The strong flavours of Nilgiri tea make it useful for blending purposes. At the same time, Nilgiri tea has suffered from poor reputation associated with its erstwhile reliance on sales to the former USSR. In the 1990s the collapse of this trading partner triggered a substantial economic downslide in the Nilgiris district. In recent years the Tea Board of India has charged some producers of Nilgiri tea with fraudulently adulterating their product, and has closed some Bought Leaf Factories due to non-compliance with food safety regulations. Also with a view to improving product quality, the United Planters Association of South India and the Tea Board of India have instigated programs to change cultivation and harvest practices among small growers.

Enligt the Tea Board Of India definieras “Darjeeling Tea” som “tea which has been cultivated, grown, produced, manufactured and processed in tea gardens in the hilly areas of Sadar Sub-Division, only hilly areas of Kalimpong Sub-Division comprising of Samabeong Tea Estate, Ambiok Tea Estate, Mission Hill Tea Estate and Kumai Tea Estate and Kurseong Sub-Division excluding the areas in jurisdiction list 20, 21, 23, 24, 29, 31 and 33 comprising Subtiguri Sub-Division of New Chumta Tea Estate, Simulbari and Marionbari Tea Estate of Kurseong Police Station in Kurseong Sub-Division of the District of Darjeeling in the State of West Bengal, India.”

Zhejiang is China’s second smallest province and one of the most densely populated. Hangzhou is the largest city and serves as the provincial capital. Zhejiang is largely covered by mountains, which means that only a fifth can be used for cultivation. The climate is subtropical governed largely by the monsoon winds.

World War II caused great damage to the tea industry in Zhejiang where many plantations were abandoned. During the 1950s restored the tea industry systematically using official development programs. Cultivation and production methods improved, new areas were planted and Zhejiang is now China’s leading tea producer.

Anhui is one of the smallest of China’s 21 provinces and surrounded by Jiangsu in the Northeast, Zhejiang in the southeast, Jiangxi to the south and Hubei and Hunan in the west.

Anhui has been known for its tea since the 600s century when it was exported both to the rest of China and to other countries. Exports declined during the 1800s and early 1900s but has now recovered and several of China’s most famous teas come from Anhui. The main areas of cultivation of tea are the slopes of the mountain range Dabie Mountains 大别山 (Dabie Shan) and Huangshan 黄山.

Famous teas

Trade name

Chinese name

Category

Availability

Note

An Cha

安茶

Oolong

Uncommon

Uncertain classification.

Bai Bei Xiang Ya

百杯香芽

Green

Uncommon

Bai Shuang Wu Hao

白霜 雾毫

Green

Uncommon

Bai Yue Huang Ya

白岳黄芽

Green

Uncommon

Bai Yun Chun Hao

白云春毫

Green

Rare

Bao Er Yun Feng

抱儿云峰

Green

Rare

Bi Se Tian Xiang

碧色天香

Green

Rare

Cang Shan Chun Xue

苍山春雪

Green

Unknown

Hard to identify. There is aparently a tea from Yunnan with the same name.

Ci Shan Cui Hao

祠山翠亳

Green

Extremly rare

It is surprising that there is so little information about this tea.

Cui Kui

翠魁

Green

Uncommon

Dan Shan Cui Yun

丹山翠云

Green

Rare

De Xin Pai Lu Xian Zi

德信牌 绿仙子

Green

Rare

Dong Zhi Yun Jian

东至云尖

Green

Uncommon

Fu Shan Cui Zhu

浮山翠珠

Green

Rare

Gan Lu Qing Feng

甘露青峰

Green

Uncommon

Gao Feng Yun Wu

高峰云 雾

Green

Extremly rare

There is apparently a tea from Hunan with the same name. Uncertain classification